A Simple Masterpiece
by FlameAlchemist007
Summary: The tennis players of Rikkai utilize their artistic abilities to make something nice for their captain who is recovering from his surgery. Last half of the story is Yukimura POV. A sweet Sanada x Yukimura moment.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters related to it. They all belong to Konomi Takeshi.

**Rating:** K

**Author's Note: **A "quote-prompt" mini-fic is what this is. It was supposed to be shorter, but I ended up getting carried away about what each person would have done and it ended up being this nice and sweet short story.

Part of this is Yukimura-centric (it worked out well because he likes art). There is a bit of Sanada x Yukimura thrown in there. And I couldn't resist a very faint touch of Platinum Pair xD

And yes, I did Photoshop my version of what their masterpiece would look like so if you would like to see it, send me a message. :) It's silly, but I like it.

Feel free to comment and enjoy!

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_"Life is a great big canvas and you should throw all the paint on it you can."_

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Kirihara would throw huge splatters of red paint because he is violent in his tennis playing style and the effect would remind him of his favorite fighting-style video games. He also liked feeling free to make a mess, which is probably why his team let him do this first and stayed a good distance away.

Jackal would fill in an area with brown paint which suits his calm and down-to-earth nature. He was careful to avoid the dripping paint from Kirihara's attack on it as he worked and thought he would also add touches of dark red to give it some more subtle interest.

Marui would use a variety of bright colors because he found the current color palette to be a bit too basic for his taste. The wild strokes of orange, yellow, pink, and red that had he put all over the place added contrast significantly. He finished his art with a flourish, claiming he was a genius at this.

Niou would find silver paint that changes to different shades depending on the angle of the light. Something like that was fitting of the Tricker who prided himself on creating illusions. He smirked as he painted knowing that he was going to have Kirihara confused as to why the canvas was changing colors on him.

Yagyuu would find a spot hardly untouched by the others and paint it with a careful selection of green, blue, and purple. He wanted to his work to give off the feeling of gentle serenity. Once he finished that, he couldn't help but add a little bit to what everyone else had done and smiled when he noticed what kind of paint Niou had used.

Yanagi would place precise brush strokes of pale blue in areas that he analyzed needed more paint. He had calculated in the data of what all of his teammates would do and planned his work accordingly to result in something appealing in the end. He took his turn after everyone else knowing that it was better to avoid chaos than to be ruined by it.

Sanada would come into the room, pick up the canvas, stash it away the corner of the locker room, and yell at his team to stop wasting time and to get to practice. As they left with Yanagi acting as the fukubuchou for part of the practice, they all knew that Sanada was too embarrassed to be seen doing something "trivial" like this when he had more important things to tend to. Later they saw the beautiful calligraphy that he had left in black paint towards the bottom, but he had disappeared before they could confront him.

* * *

Yukimura smiled brightly as Sanada, with the rest of the team behind him, presented their buchou with this wonderful surprise. He was still in the process of recovering from his successful surgery and hadn't seen them in a long time. They asked if they could hang it up and he nodded, watching with an amused smile on his face as Kirihara and Marui scrambled to the garage for a nail and hammer and tripping on themselves in the doorway. When they got back, they proceeded to arguing loudly and throwing pillows at each other from across the room playfully.

Jackal was chosen to put the nail into the wall and to hang it up since he was the most likely to be able to succeed at his task. Yagyuu could have done it as well, but he was a gentlemen who was busy with watering the plants on the windowsill that Yukimura cared for. Yanagi would have taken too long by judging the most aesthetic spot to place it in the room and ended up choosing to organize the books on the desk. Niou was not to be trusted with tools under any circumstances because of the latest series of pranks so he joined Yagyuu with tending the plants.

Sanada was sitting at Yukimura's bedside and was about to stand up and to put them under control, but a frail hand on his arm stopped him. He glanced down with a slightly curious expression and Yukimura shook his head silently, eyes twinkling. It was silent permission to let the team be themselves for a while, no matter how dangerous it might be. Sanada nodded and sat back down, feeling apprehensive inside, but trusting his long-time friend's decision. Yanagi came over to join them and they observed the antics of their fellow team members, sharing the appreciation that they felt for each other both verbally and wordlessly.

The team had departed after an hour or so of spending their time there - laughing with each other and catching him up with the latest news. Yukimura waved them out and they left with bright smiles on their faces knowing that they had made their buchou's day more joyful. Yanagi said a few words of encouragement and hugged him briefly before leaving with the rest of the group. Only Sanada was left and he chose to stay longer so that they could talk privately - something that he had been wanting for a while and he was sure that Yukimura knew the whole time.

Yukimura asked who's idea it was to do this out of curiosity. Sanada had no answer since no one could remember how it came to be, but once the idea was public, everyone rushed to join in on the plan. Yukimura had a slight suspicion that the instigator was Yanagi, who would be crafty enough to do all of the elaborate planning that ensured it was successful without revealing himself (Niou could too, but he highly doubted it was him). He laughed at the same time Sanada let out a small chuckle, meaning that he had come to the same conclusion.

Sanada held Yukimura's hand softly the whole time - their relationship was something that was quite special to him. Their actions were always small and discreet and they had never told each other anything of what meant everything to them. Yet, somehow, they could hear and understand completely what they were not saying to one another, and that was something that they both appreciated.

Yukimura gently lowered Sanada's head with his free hand and kissed him softly on the lips. It felt overwhelmingly wonderful to Sanada who had been missing his touch for a long time and he closed his eyes to savor the moment. Yukimura felt his reaction and obliged, kissing him a few more times before he had to leave. He felt Sanada's hand slide slowly and unwillingly from his as he made his way out. Yukimura always found it amusing that the fiercely stoic fukubuchou of the Rikkai tennis club could be so tender and caring on the inside.

Yukimura leaned back into his pillows and stared at the painting fondly. To a professional artist, it probably looked like a jumble of amateur randomness. To Yukimura, it was a priceless masterpiece with powerful meaning. He knew his team well enough to accurately guess what each person contributed to the canvas and how much they enjoyed themselves as they created this for him.

Tennis was life to Yukimura, which in turn, made the Rikkai team his life as well. Sometimes Yukimura wondered if the team actually liked him or just respected and/or feared his ability. This gift confirmed what he believed was the right answer - that the team did truly like him and trusted him to lead them to victory. The thoughts that went into this was something Yukimura would cherish forever and he felt blessed to have a representation of the strong support of his team, hanging on his wall, to reflect on and to admire for all the years to come.


End file.
